The Drivers of Corporate Water Disclosure in Enhancing Information Transparency

Abstract

This paper explores drivers of corporate water disclosure (CWD) from an aspect of accountability. Based on legitimacy theory and stakeholder theory, we propose six potential drivers of CWD. First, this paper uses an independent sample t-test to analyze differences in CWD among US firms. Later, potential drivers on CWD were identified using ordinal logit regression. These hypotheses posit that debt ratio, blockholders’ ownership ratio, inclusion in a capital market index (i.e., S&P500), and the status of belonging to a water-sensitive industry (WSensi) all have a positive effect on CWD. However, the relations of firm size and profitability on CWD are insignificant. This suggests that the supervision of blockholders and creditors can effectively improve the transparency of CWD.

Ownership structure and environmental, social and governance performance disclosure: the moderating role of the board independence

“…These results the researchers agreed upon previously (e.g. Shin et al, 202;Yu et al, 2020;Juhmani, 2013).…”

“…Elfeky (2017) also documented the negative impact of the block holder's ownership on the disclosure, and this evidence was supported by Kolsi (2017). Yu et al (2020) took an opposing stance, claiming a positive correlation to the block holder's ownership on disclosure. From the preceding, the block holder may carry a particular agenda that may conflict with the interests of the public of stakeholders (Younas et al, 2021).…”

Data centre water consumption

“…Corporate water stewardship is growing in importance 79 , yet it is difficult to understand the current situation due to the lack of reporting. Google and Microsoft are leading in renewable energy, but even they are secretive about their water resource management.…”

Impression management strategies and water disclosures – the case of CDP A-list

“…As in the research, the determinants of the level of voluntary disclosure and the consequences of companies' adoption of voluntary initiatives, such as the CDP programme, can be related to regulatory and social factors (Reid and Toffel, 2009;Guenther et al, 2016), country-level factors (Ben-Amar and Chelli, 2018), industry factors (Hassan et al, 2013;King et al, 2005;Guenther et al, 2016;Morikawa et al, 2007;Morrison and Schulte, 2009), firmspecific factors (Yu et al, 2020;Ben-Amar and Chelli, 2018;Burritt et al, 2016;Luo et al, 2012;Daniel and Sojamo, 2012;Reid and Toffel, 2009;Callery, 2019) and as a way for companies to give a credible sign to external stakeholders of their environmental stewardship (Prakash and Potoski, 2007). Guenther et al (2016) conclude that in countries with strong governmental policies, there is a strong relation between carbon disclosure and carbon performance.…”

“…Thus, we aim to evaluate the extent to which voluntary environmental programmes contribute to water disclosures by reviewing the research on water reporting. We have found empirical studies that investigate the drivers of water reporting practices (Morikawa et al, 2007;Morrison and Schulte, 2009;Burritt et al, 2016;Ben-Amar and Chelli, 2018;Yu et al, 2020) and that analyze water reporting by sector or country (Ahmad et al, 2010;Leong et al, 2014;Botha and Middelberg, 2016). Yu et al (2020) conclude that the level of water disclosure is driven by firm-specific factors such as the creditor (e.g.…”